What: The Oral Stage presents fiftynineminutes; original short plays and monologues
When: 8:30pm, Thursday 28th September to Sunday 1st October 2006
Where: The Dram Projects, BG-6, Happy Mansion Apartments, Jalan 17/13, 46400 Petaling Jaya
How Much: RM10; contact Louisa Low at 016-3757833
Who: A cast of 22 young thespians doing 7 monologues and short plays
Yep, brought to you by the same people from Rojak!.
Yes I’m going, oh Emilie.
Recent events have led to a wake up call. A good blow to the head.
If you asked me 5 days ago where I saw myself in 5 years from now, I wouldn’t know. Heck, I hated those ambition-type questions to the core, me being a laidback hippie, a voluntary honorary red ant. Is everybody supposed to be a managing director at the age of 25? I like hands-on programming. I don’t want to be giving orders to subordinates, who I feel would not do the job the way I want it. John Carmack has always been a hardcore programmer for id Software, despite co-owning it! His dedication and passion is what kept their game engines top-notch.
Move Out
I plan to move out of my parents’ house sometime.
I’ve never given it thought. I’ve never thought that I should, or that I would. Until recently.
Just like in Failure To Launch, there really isn’t a reason to move out. I do not hate my parents. I’m not inseparable from them either. I come home just to sleep, use the computer, fix the computer, provide free ASTRO for my family (it’s a company perk) and eat dinner. Sometimes. My Nokia N70‘s alarm clock is more annoying than previous Nokias I’ve had, but I am still coming back after gigs at 2am and sleeping right through the alarm. That’s where family comes in. The human alarm clock.
I don’t need to move out. I don’t get cigarette withdrawal symptoms at home. I don’t get the munchies. (I don’t smoke or do weed.) I don’t have a curfew. They’ve never said that I can’t bring girls into my room but I don’t, because I am shyyy. 😮
I was never forced to live independently before, since I went to college at Informatics KL, which was very near the Ampang Park LRT station. Perhaps, if I was studying Game Design in Multimedia University, Melacca (and then Cyberjaya) I’d be forced to experience it. Perhaps, if I came to the Klang Valley to study, from say Ipoh, I’d be forced to.
At this point, being forced to go for National Service would be good for me. It teaches kids to be independent! It really isn’t about learning how to fire guns. It’s about getting some muscles, a bit of a tan, and watching your back as you pick up the soap.
Where To?
Preferably somewhere in the middle of everything, like KL Sentral or Bangsar. Of course, both areas are prime property, so Seputeh, Brickfields and Kerinchi are cheaper options.
Oh, and it would have to be next to an LRT station, so even schoolgirls can come to my place… and play with my Transformers and watch me play guitar. I’m a private person and only do private performances, unless under inhibition-inhibiting substances.
Getting Around
I love the LRT and fully support it. It’s too bad people aren’t patient enough to live with it. A banged up car, and the cost of banging it back into shape, could be half a Kancil. Plus I could park anywhere without worrying. I wouldn’t put my junk in the backseat.
But really, do I need a car?
NO.
I am one of those people who can live with long bus rides. I’ve got my phone and loads of Symbian games. I’ve got my pen and paper and a Rubik’s Cube. I’ve always got something to mentally occupy myself with.
I just want a car so I can pick up chicks.
…and maybe come home late after clubbing in some place where taxis exorbitantly charge RM50 just to exit Subang/Sunway. But then, I shouldn’t be drinking and driving, so… do you see the irony here?
If I got married, I’d rather she drive while I take the bus. I might have a car, but it’s a matter of having a choice. (Like KL Commuter, a blog about public transportation in Malaysia, says.)
I’d hate myself the moment I find myself unable to ride the LRT.
Saving Up?
Since I’m so good at starting things and not finishing them, I shall exercise the policy of buying a functional item and then not upgrading it. For example, I was getting restless with my (sister’s) acoustic guitar, and wanted a lickable butterscotch Ibanez GSA 370-QM AM electric guitar badly. Just as I had the money for it, I failed for the first time in college. Plans were delayed, and the itch subsided.
Similiarly, I have a Canon Powershot A520, a functional geek camera with manual features. The itch is currently high to get a digital SLR… but I’ve a feeling that that too, will pass. I already have one item of camera. That cash could go to the car.
“Dad, I’m gonna move out. Can you buy me a Kancil?”
That’s not the point. Complete, true independence is the point.
…of course, provisions will be made for a gradual transition, but I will do as much as I am able to.
Food
I can’t don’t know how to haven’t tried to cook, but I have a whole lot of hair that I can afford to lose, by eating a carton of instant cup noodle. I’m used to my family’s kitchen mishaps, so if my cooking sucked I’d be pretty used to it. 😀
Drinks
I’m still at the age where I enjoy just having a sober conversation at a mamak compared to having a sober conversation in the smoky nethers of a pub or bistro. Alcohol is great, yeah, but just like food it goes in and goes out. Starbucks, too. Yeah, so I’m not big on coffee or alcohol. You could say that I haven’t cultivated such cultured tastes… but I should be thankful I don’t have such costly preferences. Ramli Burger anytime!
Changes, Plans
Self-preparation is the plan.
But first, I need to start practising as if I was independent at home, while I save up.
Cut Off Alarming Dependence
Tune myself to the alarm. It will be unavoidable that I will lack sleep. If I sleep at 2am, I’d only wake up automatically 8 hours later. However, there have been occurences where I remind myself before I sleep that the batteries are charging downstairs… and when I wake up, I actually remember to look for them. I set three alarms 15 minutes apart, and the jackpot’s on the third.
When I move, my room will be a mark of minimalism. Wardrobe in a box, the rest of my junk in a box, sofabed, computer table, office chair, fan (air-cond gives me the sniffles) and a toilet.
I felt that this blog entry would’ve been better written last night, since all the points were running in my head all day, but I decided to get off my lazy ass and clean up my room. How would I live the minimalist concept if I had heaps of boxes and papers around?
Thanks Ms. B. and best friend for helping me come to this realization. I’ve been such a dependent person for so long. (And shameless and stupid too.) I just don’t know where to hide my face in shame.
And on the 9th of September 2006, I went for Yvonne Foong‘s Rock 4 Hope charity concert.
Pinky Khoo and another emcee.
A Day At The Zoo, from Yvonne’s church, played a few pop rock covers…
…a few hard rock originals…
…but they seemed most at home with anything funky.
Projector! This was last seen at the Shout! Frequency Cannon And Friends gig, also held at the Sunway Multipurpose Hall.
God forbid that A Day At The Zoo play after hard-rocking A-list Malaysian virtuoso rock band, Deja Voodoo Spells.
Mie holds the fort on bass…
…and waits for Ainol to be done with his bass solo.
Double-tappers! Mie did Rasa Sayang, Doraemon and the Super Mario theme. Like a Zack on bass.
Finally, Rithan played the song I’d been bugging Edge Of Fire to play for ages – Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody! Of course, they cut out the choral bits to fully rock out, following it with Queen – Stone Cold Crazy.
Pineapples tarts are heaven.
Pineapples appear on pizzas, but kids pull them from their cheese beds and toss them aside.
Pineapples appear in fruit punch, but kids drink the punch, leaving the pineapples behind.
Pineapple tarts, however, are always a hit.
It’s like pineapples were created by God to decorate fruit baskets and make pineapple tarts.
Pardon this picture-less post, I’m unable to connect to my FTP server at the moment.
What: Moonshine, a homemade acoustic show
Who: Tempered Mental, Kluk Kluk Adventure, One Buck Short, Pete Teo, Kohl
When: 9:30pm, 14th September 2006
Where: Laundry Bar, The Curve
How much: Free, but you’ll get thirsty cheering for the hard-rocking bands and drooling at the chicks
I also went for The Shape Of Things, as a reviewer for Xfresh.
I’ve already written about it here, so let the pictures do the talking.
Proper drama in a play, for once! After all those philosophical meaningful thought-provoking plays come this, a play whose meanings do not need a toilet seating to understand. Do you go to plays to watch them orate puzzles… or perform and be entertained? A lot of meaning was obvious, though deeper thoughts might reveal more. Was the surprise twist at the end out of spite?
Eve plans to deface a painting, and the nerdy security guard Adam tries to stop her. While the play was about love, there was a underlining parallel reference to art, like in lines like:
“When Picasso took a shit, he didn’t call it art. He knew the difference. That’s what made him Picasso.”
Maybe he’d be able to, with such a rifle (shown outside, in set designer Jia Wei’s garage clearance.
Meanwhile, Eve breaks Adam in. Conversation is natural and not staged, with proper dynamics and pacing. Phew. Some of the other plays I’d seen were like 10-minute grindcore songs. (Grindcore songs are under 2 minutes for good reason.)
Kinky with cameras.
However, while she managed to shape him into a good-looking, confident man, she failed to control his loyalty. On the plus side, she successfully changed a man… while on the minus side, he went to the woods with his roommate’s fiancee.
While the drama may seem exaggerated, we probably know someone who has gone through that.
Some, myself included, may be able to relate to some of the characters in the play at any one time. There was also Two Inch Paperheart, who played U2-like background music in between scenes.
Now, for pictures from Broken Scar‘s final farewell show, 7th September 2006.
Ariff Akhir of The Sofa Sessions: Eh Daphne, you know ah, you damn pretty lah. I like you.
Daphne the emcee: Ehehehe thank you!
The Sofa Sessions, featuring bass slut Alda. I used 1/3rd-power flash, ISO 200, 1/25th (to expose the colored lighting but keep motion blur down). The 1/3rd-power flash helped to increase detail in the shadows, especially on Alda’s face, but not enough to give him an unsightly blue/white tint.
Top left: Sometimes, slow-shutter flash can make interesting effects; bottom-left: Velan, who runs Jamasia, looks like Gene Frenkle of that famous Saturday Night Live Cowbell skit; right: Daphne shows off her legs.
Spot the odd one out of Qings & Kueens.
Yep, Ariff is not a band slut. Meng played bass for Qings & Kueens, filling in for Kevin Theseira. Vima, frontman, was cracking jokes non-stop. 😀
And now, for Broken Scar, stealing Paul of Qings & Kueens.
Another picture with 1/3rd-power flash; Alda’s face would be dark otherwise.
They played a cover of KISS – Rock And Roll All Night!
I recognize this act from another band!
Post-gig interview.
Kevin, have a safe flight. I’ll miss the philosophical car rides to gigs, and untying my hair and headbanging!
And now for pictures from the Cineleisure MYSO Jamfest, dated 15th July 2006. WHOA!
How do you get to Cineleisure Damansara? Follow The Street! (Note the upside-down trashcans.)
Live music in front of La Cucur, place of scorching hot Teh Tarik.
Clockwise from top-left: Graffiti; artist at work; sumo wrestlers taking a break; headless rodeo.
Before K-sized cars, there were these…
Top: Estranged atop the Xfresh Xplorer; bottom-left: Stonebay; bottom-right: Edge Of Fire.
There was also a skate competition, but I don’t know the names of the tricks so here are some slow-shutter pictures.
It was a sunny evening, so to get perceptible motion blur, I used ISO 50 and Aperture Priority, with the aperture set to F8, the darkest possible for my camera, to get as slow a shutter speed as possible.
Alright, so there’s also some cheap attempt at desaturation.
Don’t judge me I’m slipping!
This would be a normal shot without slow shutter.
This was zoomed all the way in with F8 and ISO 50, the shutter speed was still a quick 1/60th of a second. However, panning (following the subject through the optical viewfinder) gives a blurry background.
The dudes don’t look too impressed.
Here’s a post in the style of politics, a break from the pictures. ‘sides, I’m trying to cut down on my bandwidth usage, hence the 10 posts per page (instead of the usual 20.) It’s just temporary until I work out a good ratio of text to pictures.
“We do not want your money. Keep your money. We only want you to behave and drive safely. We do not want a single sen from you
Don’t forget to come for Yvonne Foong’s Rock4Hope!
“ROCK4HOPE is a charity concert organized to raise funds for the surgery of 20-year-old 2005 Dream Malaysia Awards winner, Yvonne Foong, to remove a tumor in the brain.
Yvonne, who spends her time studying and writing freelance articles for local dailies, is currently in need of funds to remove a brain tumor called Acoustic Neuroma that had made her deaf in both ears. The avid classical singer and pianist she once was, is now living in a world of silence.”
Yes that’s right, she cannot rock out to Deja Voodoo Spells and A Day At The Zoo! Tis indeed a pity. You know, Deja Voodoo Spells, one of the best shredder bands in Malaysia, with Rithan the frontman/guitarist shredding with Steve Vai once upon a time in Singapore?
What: Rock4Hope charity concert
Who: Deja Voodoo Spells and A Day At The Zoo
When: 7:30pm, 9th September 2006
Where: Multipurpose Hall, Sunway University College
How Much: RM20 only.
I’m going, yo. If you’ve secretly thought that headbanging was cool and was loads of fun, look for me and I can teach you how. 😀
10th August 2006, Laundry Bar, The Curve: Moonshine KL
Zalila Lee, with Melina of Tempered Mental playing bass.
Jerral Khor plays the same instrument Zalila is playing and sports the same cool chicken hairdo that Zalila is having.
Brainhead.
Slow shutter/night mode flash; flash, then move the camera about.
Deserters were a lot more alive and a lot more indie rock.
…I remember them being atmospheric before; perhaps the other members changed their vibe?
Fathulistiwa Soundscapes. Fathul lost his badass long hair from before.
Shelley Leong and band.
Behind, the never stationary Az Samad.
I didn’t get to stay to catch the open mike acts. 🙁
And now, for some time-space-continuum confusion – a slight jumble! Bottom-left: Az does a tribute to Zack Kim; bottom-right: Az duels with Alda. Top-left: Cheryl and I rock out; top-right: I steal stim-girl‘s funky hat. 😀 Yeah, the upper pictures are from the gig below.
What gig? Project Bazooka presents Rhapsody versus Tempered Mental, 17th August 2006, Laundry Bar as well.
The lighting makes it seem like I desaturated all the other colors, leaving only red.
Rhapsody borrowed Tempered Mental’s drummer, Jimmy…
…and Tempered Mental’s bassist and vocalist, Melina.
Nicole the R&B/jazz/soul diva has an amazing voice.
Are you seeing triple?
Khai-Lee: Alright, Nicole, it’s now time for Tempered Mental to play.
Nicole: But… but… I haven’t finished thanking everybody yet!
Dear God…
…may everybody who watches buy our CD, coz we’re cool, and if you buy our CD, you’re cool.
Heck, buy as many as the number of people you see in the glass!
Alright, so Jack shreds along to Melina’s progressive rock basslines; he interestingly gets a few bars to throw in a solo where there wasn’t one before.
So what about the versus bit? I felt conned. Damn you Khai-Lee and Yu-Ri! Dashing my hopes. Rhapsody and Tempered Mental all got on stage, and Nicole harmonized the backing vocals (while Ywenna played keyboards) to Tempered Mental’s Pure. But that was it! And we all wandered around aimlessly after that, since it ended so quickly and early.